While we lived in Thailand we sent our children to a Buddhist school. Generally we loved it – the focus on mindfulness, calmness and good behaviour was brilliant. It also instilled in my eldest a respect for animals. And not just the cute fluffy ones. No, we became a family who would actually remove spiders from the house and ‘free’ them using a Tupperware container. My limits were tested, though, when my beautiful innocent boy came to me with light in his eyes saying he’d found a lovely creature. Here’s what happened.